“Walt Disney” is a four hour documentary from American Experience that I’m shocked was released. Public Broadcasting has a knack of getting at the history of troubled creators. But, Disney is so much about image and burying the nasty details of Walt’s past. American Experience dwells on the labor busting, the sexism and the general corporate government stoogery that was seen throughout the Golden Era. But, there’s also tons of quality footage from producing the classic films.
I get the need to have a tale that focuses on what it takes to create a creative empire. But, I don’t feel that Disney’s personal choices were given enough weight. Walt Disney knew what he was doing and he knew that he had to break away from RKO, Columbia and Universal with his animation efforts. Leon Schlesinger over at Warner Brothers never gets the same sort of flack for that reason.
Let’s be honest. If you study animation history in the 30s and 40s, you realize that there were a ton of dirtbags working in the field. Animators worked in buildings that were crumbling. Union busting was the order of the day and studio heads were always on the lookout for Commies. But, there’s the long line of work.
Hopefully, American Experience will tackle the rest of the Golden Age of American Animation. I’d also like to see these documentaries get HD releases. The DVD comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is solid when compared to past releases. In the end, it’s a purchase for all animation fans.
Release Date: 9/15/15